The Scent of Strawberries
by laura.gonchle
Summary: The pain of losing a friend is unbearable, but the power of gaining one is unchallenged. KakaRin. Slight AU.
1. Chapter 1

The crisp winter air blew gently against the small bouquet of flowers that were held in gloved hands.

The sun only began to rise just moments earlier as Hatake Kakashi solemnly made his way to the burial yard.

Every year, on this day only one thing was on his mind. Everything else took a backseat to the one thing that drove him to where he was headed.

The birthday of his fallen best friend, Obito.

It was one time out of many throughout the year that he set aside for his friend.

It was the least he could do, even though his sacrifices would never challenge that of Obito's.

With little sense of urgency, he slowly made his way up the steps that lead into the graveyard. The grip that he had on the delicate flowers increased slightly as he walked the pathway that lead to a row of gravestones.

A small, nearly invisible smile marked his lips as he finally stood before the gravestone of the Uchiha.

He crouched down as the fingertips of his free hand ghosted over the ingrained name of his friend, before he set the flowers neatly onto the stone.

"Happy birthday, Obito," he whispered "31 already, huh?"

He stood back to his full height, his eyes still trained onto the gravestone.

"Seems like we've both gotten old."

He stood there a few moments longer in silence, deeming his words not worthy of conveying his feelings. Everything that's happened in the past 17 years would take more than a short visit to explain, possibly more than a day.

"But we'll get that day soon, won't we?" Kakashi thought to himself as his single eye slid shut. He could feel Obito's eye slowly start to water beneath his askew headband, causing a sad half smile to form beneath his navy mask.

"Still have something in your eye?" he asked mentally as he looked back down at the cluster of flowers he left.

He kept his gaze locked there as he focused on someone else's presence as they silently approach him from behind.

"Kakashi?" a familiar voice called quietly, as if their presence threatened to break the silence.

"Hn?" he grunted back without looking behind him, "What is it you need, Shizune?"

She took in a small puff of air before responding quietly, "Tsunade needs you at the hospital,"

He looked over his shoulder slowly, raising an eyebrow for an explanation.

"It's about Rin."

Kakashi's head slowly looked turned back around towards Obito's grave. His body tensed slightly as he thought about his other teammate.

The one that he vowed to protect.

In a matter of seconds, all of his thoughts revolved around one thing: losing another teammate. It wasn't unlikely, considering the condition Rin has been in for the past 5 odd years.

The odds of someone being in a comatose state for that long and waking up, were close to none.

But Kakashi hadn't quite prepared himself for the moment when she finally leaves him too. And he sure wasn't ready now.

"What about Rin?" he asked just above a whisper, turning around fully to face the medical-nin.

A small smile flashed onto Shizune's face which completely dispelled all of Kakashi's negative thoughts.

"Come to the hospital," she repeated quietly.

Kakashi stood there silently, studying her. Medical-nin always had a way of breaking the news to people, he just wanted to be sure he wasn't another victim.

"Go ahead and head back," he paused as he turned back around and crouched again, "I have something that I'd like to finish up first."

She hesitated before nodding her head. She quickly wove the signs for the transportation jutsu that would bring her back to the hospital.

"Don't take too long," was the last thing she murmured before disappearing completely.

Kakashi took a few moments to allow the silence to engulf him once again as he brought his attention back to his best friend.

"I'm sure you're the one that should be receiving the gift today, Obito," he whispered as he stood up and wove the signs for the transportation jutsu.

"But thank you," he thought as he disappeared, a cloud of smoke taking his presence.

A single golden ray of sunlight showered down onto Obito's gravestone, the flowers gently fluttering in the wind.

* * *

AN: I've always wanted to try writing a story, and I haven't seen much KakaRin fanfictions, so I decided to give it a shot. :) I'm not sure if I did all too well, but I'm hoping that I'll improve over time. Thank you for taking the time to read my first story, it means a lot. :)

I would really appreciate seeing feedback, seeing as this is my first story and all so I don't think I'll add the next chapter till I get at least 2 reviews. I just want to make sure people are actually reading my story first. Also! The summary needs a lot of help, if you have any ideas drop me a message.


	2. Chapter 2

The moment Kakashi appeared in the entrance room of the hospital, the nearly unbearable smells of cleaning detergent and antiseptics filled his nose. He gave himself a moment to adapt to the potent scents and bright lights of the healing facility.

There was always a reason to him self medicating instead of checking into the hospital after important missions.

As always the hospital was full of people, their chattering and whispers mixing together into a dull roar.

Kakashi slipped in and out of people's way towards the other side of the lobby, a occasional "excuse me" or "sorry" coming from his masked mouth.

With a light nod to the receptionists, he walked toward a long hallway that lead to the well-lit stairway.

There was no need for him to ask where Rin's room was located. He had visited so much that the room number 317 had been ingrained into his head, even after all these years.

Even after he stopped visiting when her chances grew slimmer and slimmer before his eyes. He couldn't stand to see her there, not being able to help or protect her as he promised. He couldn't bear the torture, so he cut it out his life completely.

Thoughts of Rin only resurfaced while he visited Minato and Obito's graves. But even then, he kept those memories to a minimum.

"I wonder if she even noticed that I stopped visiting her," he mumbled to himself before letting out a deep sigh.

He nimbly walked passed several doorways that lead down other hallways and to the individual hospital rooms. He passed by several benches and people who sat outside the rooms waiting for their loved one to get better.

With his hands in his pockets, he inched closer and closer to the staircase till he finally found himself stepping onto the first step.

He could've sworn that he felt a light push in the small of his back. But when he looked over his shoulder, no one was there.

* * *

Having finally made it to the third floor of the hospital, Kakashi leaned onto the wall beside the swinging door that lead into the hallway.

He knew that room 317 was just through the door, the second room on the right, but he couldn't bring himself to go in just yet.

Kakashi wasn't one to let his fears get to him, but all of the possible scenarios that played through his head made him unable to lift his foot not even an inch.

What will happen if she doesn't accept his visit well? What if she somehow knew that he hadn't been visiting? What if the coma caused her to lose all of her memory?

What if she doesn't even remember him?

All the questions that ran in his head made the pit of his stomach knot up, but somehow made his feet move on their own accord.

Hesitation and nervousness pushed aside, he needed those questions to be answered and that would only happen in one way.

He pushed the swinging door forward slowly till it was wide enough for him to slip through. The quietness of the third floor calmed him slightly as he continued stepping forward to the second room on the right.

Once he found himself standing in the doorway of room 317, all of his questions and worst-case-scenarios completely left him.

"Does this hurt any?" Shizune asked a frail looking woman and she slowly bent her right arm behind her head.

"Not at all."

That voice. The moment Kakashi heard it, ringing occurred in his ear. He thought he would've forgotten that voice by now, but instead it's the most familiar thing that he remembers.

"What about this?"

Long brown hair rippled in waves from side to side as Rin nodded her head no in response. "That doesn't hurt either."

It was only then when Kakashi prepared to propel himself forward into the hospital room until Lady Tsunade appeared before him.

"Kakashi," she greeted as she continued forward, forcing him to back out of the room "It's about time you decided to come by."

Kakashi remained silent as he kept his eyes trained on Rin's backside.

She had become extremely pale, which didn't surprise him. Her hair grew down almost to the small of her back due to the lack of occasional care. It was evident that she had become slightly underweight, the indentations of her ribs could be seen almost perfectly, even from Kakashi's distance.

"Almost everything about you has changed, Rin," Kakashi thought to himself as he brought his gaze towards the ground.

As he was going to catch another glimpse, Tsunade had already shut the door behind her.

"Kakashi," Tsunade called slightly agitated from not being responded to.

Kakashi gaze quickly switched back to Tsunade, his aloof facade in tact. He rose his single visible eyebrow at her in question.

Tsunade took in a deep breath while her honey eyes slid shut. "Are you alright, Kakashi?"

"Of course, Lady Tsunade," he answered almost too quickly.

Tsunade opened her mouth to respond, but Kakashi had already beaten her to it.

"How is she?" he asked, in a voice that almost seemed too quiet for the hospital.

Tsunade took a moment before she responded. "She's alright to say the least," she paused "But I've decided that it would be unwise for her to return home without us knowing if she's stable enough to handle things on her own. Who knows what could happen."

Kakashi nodded his in agreement. "It would be best for her to remain at the hospital, then."

Tsunade sucked in another sigh and let it out slowly. "I think it would be best if she left the hospital, and was under the care of someone else."

"Who did you have in mind, Lady Tsunade?" Kakashi asked, knowing full well what the answer will most likely be.

"You."

"I-"

"How do you expect her to heal fully if she's stuck in the same place for such a long time?" she asked in a urgent whisper.

Kakashi remained silent. He knew she was right, but he couldn't be given that duty. Not again.

"Yes, but there has to be someone else though. Someone who's actually trained to do this sort of thing."

"That's all who've been taking care of her from the start, Kakashi," she replied sadly "That method works for only so long."

His eyebrow furrowed slightly.

"I've already failed at protecting her once, Tsunade. How would it be a good idea to do it again?"

"Wouldn't you like a second chance?" Tsunade responded in a soft voice. "I'm sure she's more than willing to give you a second chance."

"You don't seem to understand-"

"I understand that both of you need healing, and only you two can help each other."

Kakashi grew silent again, his gaze and facial expression relaxing fully beneath his navy mask.

He understood why Rin needed time and aid in healing, but why would he? He was probably the last person in the entire hospital that needed any form of healing.

"Go ahead and see her," Tsunade whispered as she twisted the door knob open, "Try for at least a day, and if you can't bare it I'll find someone else."

Kakashi studied Tsunade carefully. Something about her expression gave off the feeling that she knew Kakashi would never give a responsibility like that up, especially if it's concerning someone so close to him.

If only he had that confidence in himself.

The silver headed man walked forward, past Tsunade and pushed the door open slowly first poking his head through before walking through it.

Just as he was walking through, Shizune had just finished with helping Rin pull on the clothes that the hospital have lent to her.

Noticing him, Shizune shot Kakashi a small smile before whispering something to Rin and hurrying out the hospital room.

As the door slowly squeaked shut, Kakashi carefully stepped closer to Rin.

She peaked over her shoulder before turning around to face him completely, the loose beige hospital gown fluttering behind her sudden movement.

The pair stood there in silence, just a few feet apart.

They wanted to be sure that it was really who they thought it was, that they weren't just having another hopeless dream.

Light brown eyes scanned slowly and carefully over a masked face, over the covered neck and down to the clothed torso leading onto the legs and the blue shinobi sandals that covered his feet.

A single silvery, gray eye studied two purple rectangles that marked each cheek which were being gently tickled by the long brown hair that framed her face, a thin neck that connected her head to the rest of her frail body, all the way down to her feet.

A small smile cracked onto her tattooed face.

"Kakashi," she choked out, "do I at least get a hug?" she whispered as she walked closer to him.

His arms reluctantly rose to accommodate her as she walked into his chest, her arms wrapping around his torso as much as they could.

They stood there in silent for moments unnumbered.

She desired the warmth that has been absent from her for years, and he was more than willing to make up for lost time.

"Rin," he finally whispered cautiously as if it were a name to never to uttered.

She took in a deep breath of his scent, holding onto it before letting it out slowly.

"I remember seeing you only yesterday, but it feels like its been so long," she muttered into his chest.

Kakashi took a moment before responding "It has," he paused, increasing the grip his arms had on her "It has been too long."

* * *

AN: Thank you for all the review you all left me! I honestly didn't expect that many people to read it, much less review but thank you nonetheless. I tried to make this chapter a little longer than the first one, and I attempted to add more description, did it work? ._.

Like last time before I update again I would love to see at least 3 more reviews for this chapter. It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. :)

Thanks again for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Kakashi's arms maintained the protective grip they had around Rin's small frame for what seemed to be forever.

They both stood there, listening to the other's stable, almost silent breathing, the quiet activity of the hospital outside the room door unphasing them.

It was the calmest moment either of them have experienced in a while.

Kakashi's arms loosened their grip as Rin began to back away, her chocolate eyes looking up to the silver headed man.

Tearing her gaze away from his steel color eyes, she slowly walked over to the curtain covered window that was to the back of the hospital room, Kakashi watching her every delicate step. Her small hands reached up and took hold of the bleach white curtains, preparing to pull them open.

Kakashi then took the time to look around the small, quaint hospital room. Different flowers and cards that are yet to be read littered the side table near Rin's bed. The supply pack that she had worn on the mission that put her into the comatose state sat on a chair that was placed near the window. He figured that someone occasionally moved it, due to its lack of dust.

Her voice caused him to look back over to the window, as her long brown hair waved behind her.

"What should I expect when I look out here?" she asked looking over her shoulder back at Kakashi "has a lot changed?"

Kakashi allowed his gaze to look over her once again, before his eyes met with her brown one.

"You do know how long you've been asleep, right Rin?" he asked quietly, taking a few steps towards her.

She turned back around to face the window, "They never actually made any of that clear to me," she replied quietly as she allowed her hands to slide down the curtains.

Before Kakashi could respond, Rin pulled open the white curtains, allowing the bright morning sunlight to filter into the room.

She winced, her arms flying to shield her eyes as she shut them eyes completely before gradually reopening them as they slowly adapted to the sunlight.

Her hands fell to her sides as she silently looked out the window.

Her eyes dashed from one building to another as she tried to recall the last vision she had of the village in order to compare it to the vision she had now.

"Everything's changed," she muttered to herself as she placed her hands onto the windowsill, leaning in forward toward the windowpane.

"It has been five years, Rin."

A slight gasp could be heard as Rin turned to face Kakashi, her mouth slightly agape.

"Five years?" she repeated, her eyes full of worry, "It couldn't have been that long."

Kakashi's single eye slid shut as his shoulders fell further away from his ears.

"I thought they made it clear that it's been that long-"

"Are my parents alright?" she asked urgently, stepping closer to Kakashi, "Have they...?"

Rin's parents. How could I think that she would never ask about them? Kakashi thought to himself as he lowered his head.

He gave himself a few minutes to consider how he should respond. Failing to find a way, Kakashi rose his head and gaze up to Rin, his answer being shown clearly through his eye.

Rin's facial expression eased slightly from a worried one to a tearful one. Her hand rose slowly up to her lips as she let out a quiet sob, followed by another then another.

Kakashi froze, his already frayed emotions going into a frenzy once again as he watch Rin's body shake and quiver as she let out each cry.

She began to collapse as her sobs got louder and deeper.

Before she could reach the ground, however, a pair of arms grabbed hold of her, taking her down slowly to the ground.

"Kakashi," she sobbed out as she turned her face inward towards his chest.

"Shh," he hushed as he felt her hands curl into the sleeves of his navy shirt, "It's alright."

"No, it's not," she sobbed back, "I didn't even get to say goodbye."

Kakashi remained silent. There was nothing else he could say because she was right. She wasn't able to say goodbye, and there's no other way for her to.

His heart began to ache. Her first day from waking up from her coma shouldn't have been spent like this, and there was no way for him to fix it.

The time that it took for Rin to cry herself to sleep seemed to be close to the length of an eternity to Kakashi.

Once her cries quieted down to silence, Kakashi put one of his arms under her knees and the other behind her back to pick her up.

It was only then that Kakashi realized how frail she had become, and how important it was for him to remain at her side to aid her back to health.

He carefully walked over to the side of the hospital bed and laid her onto it before pulling the blanket that was gathered at the foot of the bed onto her.

He stood there momentarily watching her breathe steadily before going over to the chair beside the window and picking up her medical pouch and sitting onto the cushioned chair.

He looked back up at Rin before slouching in the chair and allowing his eye to slide shut.

It was only a few moments later that Kakashi found himself deep asleep also.

* * *

Kakashi woke up silently as he heard the hospital room door open quietly, revealing a woman in a green over coat.

"Kakashi," Tsunade whispered as she slipped into the room.

Kakashi's single eye slid open, revealing a dark room that only had the streetlights outside as its source of light.

"Yes, Lady Tsunade," he replied as he pushed himself to sit up straight, Rin's medical pouch in his lap.

"Why are you two still here?" she asked as she walked into the room, shutting the door behind her.

"Rin fell asleep," he responded simply, deciding not to relay the exact events that occurred in the past hours.

Tsunade took in a deep breathe as she flipped the light switch that turned on the room lights. "Have you made you're decision then? About what we spoke about earlier?"

"Maa, Lady Tsunade. You didn't really give me a choice, now did you?" he question, stifling a yawn. "I'll help her, of course."

"Hmph, seems as if I finally made a good choice," she responded, a smile forming onto her face before it was replaced with a serious frown, "You're aware of what you have to do, right?"

"What would that be, Lady Tsunade?" he asked, raising from his seat.

She took in another deep breath. "She's over 30 pounds underweight, for all we know all of her shinobi capabilities have gone down the drain, and she possibly could suffer from anxiety at how different things are," she listed as she pinched the skin between her eyes, "You have to make sure that she's able to function on her own."

Kakashi nodded his head in understanding, "Seems easy enough-"

"And help her to cope," Tsunade added, her voice softened. .

"With what?" Kakashi asked, his mind going into another frenzy.

"Have You two spoken about what's happened? With your teammate? Or with your past Sensei? Not to mention what has happened on the mission that put her here," Tsunade responded as she turned to head back out the room, "You're an intelligent man Kakashi, you should be able to figure this out," she whispered as she flicked the lights back off and walked out the hospital room.

Kakashi let out a loud sigh as he crumpled back into the seat behind him.

I guess now we have to face what's happened, huh Obito? Kakashi thought as his eye slid back shut.

* * *

AN: I've finally updated! I apologize for taking so long too. I haven't been feeling very well, and I still don't actually. But sickness aside, I wanted to say thank each and every one of you for reviewing! All of your reviews mean the world to me. :)

I hope it's not too much to ask for three more on this chapter till I update again, just to insure that the interest is still there.

I apologize for any mistakes that you might find, I tried my best to go through and fix the ones that I could although I probably just made more. -_- Anyways, thank you for reading!


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